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IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 2030 THE NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS PER YEAR AMOUNTS TO 1.8 BILLION. AND MANY OF THEM WILL MOVE FROM ONE SIDE TO ANOTHER NOT ONLY FOR LEISURE, BUT FOR PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS REASONS

The World Tourism Organization (WMO) estimates that tourist arrivals around the world will increase by 3 to 4 percent by 2017. In the coming years, numbers will have to change: the number of annual international travelers will increase from 1,235 (as in 2016), to an estimated 1.8 billion that will be reached in 2030. And many of them will move from one place to another not only for leisure, but for business and professional reasons.
The strength of the Meeting Tourism, also called MICE, which responds in English to Meeting, Incentives, Congresses, Exhibitions, supports this growth of the sector. Two types of Meeting Tourism are recognized: the individual (includes travelers who, due to issues inherent in their professional activities, travel in or out of a country to develop activities related to their profession or business) and the group (organization and development of different events, such as congresses, conventions, etc., in which groups are involved).
In a decade, the number of congresses of international associations doubled with a record 12 212 events in 2016, compared with about 6,000 that took place in 2006. According to the report of the International Association of Congresses and Conventions (ICCA) for its acronym in English), this tendency has been maintained during the last half century. But the growth of the segment per se does not ensure a flow of visitors and tourists to all tourist destinations, brands, entities or companies related to tourism in general, and the MICE in particular. Competition is increasing and the players are facing an even more globalized scenario in which new technologies play a fundamental role.
In the management of Tourism of Meetings, various actors are involved, beyond the usual ones of the traditional, among which stand out: the generators of events (agencies and institutions, associations, foundations, professional colleges, universities, corporations and companies) (specialized travel agencies as professional conference organizers); the bureau or convention department of the destination (non-profit organizations whose main objective is the capture of business tourism for the region, city or country, and provides updated and objective information on the infrastructure and service that has the destination to convene congresses, conventions, fairs and incentive trips) and the fairgrounds and event venues (places where MICE events are held, such as conference halls and convention hotels).
The preparation and adaptability of these 4 actors is key to successfully capturing, organizing and developing the various MICE events.

IN SEARCH OF SUCCESS
There are eight key factors to improve international positioning in the MICE segment:
1- An active promotion and development of destination tourism, backed by policies, authorities and community.
2- Relations with the entire scientific, professional and business community, both local and national, connecting them to the world. These contacts help identify opportunities as well as attract and capture meetings and events that in turn attract international visitors. Likewise, the relationships of destination travel agencies and service providers with major travel and tourism companies (Travel Manager Companies) are very important.
3- International air connectivity and adequate domestic transport infrastructure. The aircraft is the mode of transport used by more than 70 % of MICE tourism. It is the most profitable segment of passengers and the one that spends the most on complementary services, so airlines continually develop products and new tools to manage groups and VIP clients according to their needs.
4- Hotel infrastructure and tourist attractions, as well as the adequate facilitation of access to this offer through the destination travel agencies as well as outside. The MICE segment generally prefers the offer of established destinations and emblematic hotels, although in recent times the platforms that commercialize private houses are on the rise. According to the travel trends report in 2017 of Booking.com, 49 % of business travelers extend their trips to enjoy a little more of the destination they visit and 75 % had planned to do so more or more this year.
5- A specialized Infrastructure for the development of the MICE activities (conference palaces, hotels specialized in conventions, exhibition centers, etc.) modern and adapted to the new technical developments of audiovisual and computer science.
6- Preparation of the personnel involved throughout the value chain of the MICE segment, to enhance the attention to the tourist of meetings, offering an excellent service, that satisfies it and increases its tourist spending.
7- Proper design and organization. One of the current trends is to organize the event in an integrated way (Meeting Design), actively involving the participants. This enables the meeting to be developed in a sustainable manner and places on value the cultural and unique elements of the destination, as well as the entities that prepare or finance it.
8- Technology for a hyperconnected traveler, for whom the ease of the destination's Internet access, meeting or lodging site, and the handling of new technologies are essential elements when deciding where to travel, organize an event or a meeting, wherever properly use their mobiles, tablets and other devices as it usually does in their place of origin. Attracting participants in the value chain of business tourism of the future will require high doses of adaptation in the face of changing scenarios and new user profiles, such as millenials, which pay more attention to technological issues. 

 

Other recommendations
-The Website is basic to generate brand image and to know the destination at the international level.
-Watching wi-fi in both the lodgings and the headquarters is essential.
- It may be important to develop Apps (Mobile Application) of the destination and / or event, geared specifically for meeting organizers and meeting tourists.
- Contact, promotion and attention to participants and organizers through social networks is becoming increasingly important, always with the aim of having the client connected, offering a useful service and added value.